Managed IT security is the arrangement where an outside provider runs the protective layer of your technology: the endpoint agents on every laptop, the patching schedule, the firewall rules, the monitoring of it all, and the response when something trips. For most small organisations it arrives bundled inside a managed IT contract, and the security lines deserve separate reading, because they are a delegation of duties rather than a purchase of things. A delegation reads differently: who watches, how fast they respond, what they may do to your systems without asking, and what evidence you get that any of it happened. This guide walks the standard scope, the pricing logic of per-user and per-device fees with two licensed list prices for scale, and the short list of duties that stay yours whatever the contract says, which is where the written programme the free sheet on this site sizes comes in.
The standard scope, line by line
Six lines recur in every real managed IT security scope: endpoint protection installed and watched on every managed device; patching of operating systems and key applications on a stated cadence; firewall and network gear managed, rules changed on request and reviewed; monitoring with response, alerts triaged around the clock under an agreed procedure; backup verified, not just scheduled; and reporting, monthly evidence of all of the above. Each line should carry a number, patch cadence in days, response in minutes or hours, backup verification frequency, because a scope without numbers cannot be missed, only regretted.
What it costs, and why per-what matters
Managed IT security prices per user or per device per month, and which one matters more than the rate: a per-user price covering each person's laptop, phone and share of the servers usually beats a per-device price for a gadget-heavy team, and reverses for a shared-workstation shop floor. For the scale of the underlying tooling, two licensed list prices: CrowdStrike Falcon Go lists at $59.99 per device billed annually, and Microsoft Defender for Business at $3.00 per user per month paid yearly. The provider's fee stacks their watching and response on top of tooling in that range, which is the honest way to read a quote.
What stays yours, in writing
Three duties survive every delegation. Deciding access, who gets admin rights, who gets the payroll folder, is a judgement about your people no provider can make. The payment confirmation rule, no money moves on an emailed instruction alone, lives in your finance procedure, not their stack. And the policy set itself, the written statement of what your organisation protects and how, is what the provider executes against; providers ask for it on day one. The free sheet on this site counts that set from your facts and prices the drafting at your own hourly figure, and Hardenvo Pro generates the documents so the delegation starts from paper rather than assumption.
Questions people ask about managed it security
What is included in managed IT security?
Endpoint protection, patching on a stated cadence, firewall and network management, monitored alerts with response, verified backup, and monthly reporting. Every line should carry a number; a scope without turnarounds is decoration.
How much does managed IT security cost?
Per user or per device per month, with the underlying tooling in the range of the licensed list prices on this page (endpoint agents from $3.00 per user per month to $59.99 per device per year) and the provider's watching and response stacked on top. Which unit you are billed by often matters more than the rate.
What security duties cannot be outsourced?
Access decisions, the payment confirmation rule, and the written policy set the provider executes against. Providers ask for the set on day one; the free sheet counts it from your facts and the paid plan generates and maintains it.